Country's Full Name: Ceska Republika, Czech Republic

Brief History:
Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia were the regions first occupied by Slavic tribe on 5th Century AD. Premyslide dynasty formed the kingdom Bohemia ruling from 10th to 16th century. Czechs became part of Austrian empire for 300 years after they lost the thirty years war (1618 to 1648). The republic gained independence when the Austrian-Hungarian Empire collapsed after First World War. Czech and Slovak became united nation but not for long. German troops marched in March 1939 making it a protectorate. After the end of war in 1946 communists gained control with support from Soviets. Communist rule crumbled in its own weight with a ‘velvet revolution’ when the year 1989 brought new political reforms. The democratic setup was established. Slovakia however, decided to get separated from the federation. Two new nations were formed on January 1, 1993 after Czech Republic and Slovakia parted ways. Czech joined NATO in 1999 and European Union in 2004.

What is the country known for:
The republic is famous for its higher standards of education, low cost but high standards of medical care.
It is the most prosperous country post communist rule in the East-European Countries with an annual 6% growth rate.
The Macocha Gorge, also known as the Macocha Abyss, attracts visitors. It is a gorge, in the Moravian Karst cave system located north of the city of Brno, near the town of Blansko.
Many beautiful castles and palaces built in medieval time dot the landscape.
Casanova known for amorous adventures spent his last 13 years of life in the castle of Duchkov.

Main Industries:
Motor vehicles, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, glass, armaments

Main Trading Partners:
Exports: $145.8 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment 52%, raw materials and fuel 9%, chemicals 5% (2003)
Exports - partners: Germany 30.7%, Slovakia 8.7%, Poland 5.9%, France 5.4%, UK 5.1%, Italy 4.9%, Austria 4.6% (2007)

Imports: $141.4 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003)
Imports - partners: Germany 31.8%, Netherlands 6.7%, Slovakia 6.4%, Poland 6.3%, Austria 5.1%, China 5.1%, Russia 4.5%, Italy 4.4%, France 4.1% (2007)

Major Cities:
Prague, 1,378,700 (metro. area), 1,169,800 (city proper)

Other large cities: Brno, 376,400; Ostrava, 317,700; Plzen, 164,900; Olomouc, 102,900

Location:
Central Europe, southeast of Germany
Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 15 30 E

Size:
Total area: 30,450 sq mi (78,866 sq km), landlocked country

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Time Zone:
Central European Time
UTC/GMT 1 hour
DST starts on Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 2:00 AM local standard time
DST ends on Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 3:00 AM local daylight time

Type of Government:
It has bicameral Parliament or Parlament which consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms).

Chief of state: President Vaclav Klaus (since 7 March 2003)
Head of government: Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek (since 9 January 2007)

National Holidays:

2010
1 Jan New Year's Day.
5 Apr Easter Monday.
1 May May Day.
8 May Liberation Day.
5 Jul Day of the Apostles St Cyril and St Methodius.
6 Jul Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Jan Hus.
28 Sep Czech Statehood Day.
28 Oct Independence Day.
17 Nov Freedom and Democracy Day.
24 Dec - 26 Dec Christmas.

2011
1 Jan New Year's Day.
22 Apr Easter Monday.
1 May May Day.
8 May Liberation Day.
5 Jul Day of the Apostles St Cyril and St Methodius.
6 Jul Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Jan Hus.
28 Sep Czech Statehood Day.
28 Oct Independence Day.
17 Nov Freedom and Democracy Day.
25 Dec - 26 Dec Christmas.

Population:
10,220,911 (growth rate: 0.0%); birth rate: 8.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.8/1000; life expectancy: 76.6; density per sq km: 132

Religion:
Roman Catholic 27%, Protestant 2%, unaffiliated 59% (2001)
Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census)

Language:
Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census)

Local Customs:
Czechs maintain privacy, will never open up unless know you better. They will never communicate to the strangers.
If invited to somebody’s house you should bring good quality chocolates and flowers to the hostess in odd numbers (not 13 considered unlucky).
They will seldom call you by first name till you become very close friend or family person.
People are family oriented giving it first priority.
People shake their hands with eye contact when they meet first.
Business decisions are slow with hierarchies involved may make you impatient.

Best Time to go:
Travelers can get good discount in winters due to low season. The high season when streets are crammed with visitors are July and August. Most Czechs take their holidays in August and Christmas time. You may plan to visit in May or September for best times.

Currency:
Although a part of European Union, country still maintains its currency ‘Koruna’.

1 US Dollar = 21.90298 Czech Koruna
1 Czech Koruna (CZK) = 0.04566 US Dollar (USD)

1 British Pound = 30.63898 Czech Koruna
1 Czech Koruna (CZK) = 0.03264 British Pound (GBP)

1 Euro = 27.61758 Czech Koruna
1 Czech Koruna (CZK) = 0.03621 Euro (EUR)

Customs Regulations:
Tobacco: 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco or
reasonable combination of all.

Alcoholic beverages: 1 liter of liquor or 2 liters of wine.

50 grams of perfume or 0.25 liters of eau de toilette.

Tobacco and alcoholic beverages can be imported only by persons older than 16 (tobacco) and 18 (alcoholic beverages) years.

Tipping:
It depends upon you to tip for good service. In restaurants tips are left by the guests on the table after rounding off figure. Say the word ‘dekuji’ to inform waiter to keep the change.